1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to mechanical mounting structures, and more particularly to a floating mount for attaching a device to a chassis, and for facilitating the alignment of the device with another structure fixed with respect to the chassis.
2. Description of the Background Art
In modern manufacturing processes, products are typically manufactured of individual components which must be assembled into a final product. For example, a television set includes a cathode ray tube (CRT), speakers, electronic circuits, and user controls. These components are mounted to one or more sub-chassis, which are then interconnected and enclosed in a housing. For both aesthetic and functional reasons, the CRT, the speakers, and the user controls must be properly aligned with associated openings in the housing.
Because mechanical tolerances are cumulative, the problem of aligning the various components with the housing is exacerbated as the number of sub-chassis increases. For example, if the user controls are mounted to a first sub-chassis with a tolerance of .+-.0.5 mm, then the first sub-chassis is mounted to a main chassis (e.g., with the rest of the electronic circuits) with a tolerance of .+-.0.5 mm, and then the main chassis is mounted in the housing with a tolerance of .+-.0.5 mm, the result is that the tolerance between the user controls and the housing through which they protrude adds to .+-.1.5 mm.
Such cumulative tolerances often preclude otherwise desirable and advantageous assembly processes. What is needed is a mount for attaching a device (e.g., user controls) to a chassis which facilitates easy alignment of the device with respect to another structure (e.g., an external housing) mounted to the chassis.